Buoyancy transport vehicle control console

ABSTRACT

A submersible control console having an instrumentation panel and a switching panel is protected by a pair of side panels and a gripping bar lying across the front of the console. A removable back panel and a removable bottom panel orthogonally disposed provide complete access to the console&#39;&#39;s interior for inspection and servicing of the instrumentation and switches and are held in place to the console interior by a single angle element. Thus, failure is minimized since there are no threaded bolts and correspondingly tapped bores exposed to the corrosive marine environment along these lines. Filling the housing with a dielectric oil and having a diaphragm at the console-water interface renders the console impervious to fluctuating ambient pressures. The compact size of the control console provides a diver-operator with localized, accessible switches and instrumentation matrices for controlling a buoyancy transport vehicle and the console&#39;&#39;s design protects it from damage and accidental actuation of the switches.

United States Patent Strickland [11] 3,742,884 [451 .July3,197 3 BUOYANCY TRANSPORT VEHICLE CONTROL CONSOLE [75] Inventor: Alvah T. Strickland, Kailua, Hawaii [73] Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D.C.

[22] Filed: Mar. 23, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 237,304

52 us. Cl 114/0.s R 511 int. Cl. B63b 35/00 [58] Field of Search 114/05 R, 16 a,

114/16 R, 16 A; 312/208, 223, 257, 263, 296; 220/4 F, 4 R, 81

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,347,608 10/1967 Ritchie 312/263 Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Charles E. Frankfort I Attorney-Richard S. Sciascia, Ervin F. Johnston et a1.

[57] i 1 ABSTRACT A submersible control console having an instrumentation panel and a switching panel is protected by a pair of side panels and a gripping bar lying across the front of the console. A removable back panel and a removable bottom panel orthogonally disposed provide complete access to the consoles interior for inspection and servicing of the instrumentation and switches and are held in place to the console interior by a single angle element. Thus, failure is minimized since there are no threaded bolts and correspondingly tapped bores exposed to the corrosive marine environment along these lines. Filling the housing with a dielectric oil and having a diaphragm at the console-water interface renders the console impervious to fluctuating ambient pressures.

, The compact size of the control console provides a diver-operator with localized, accessible switches and instrumentation matrices for controlling a buoyancy transport vehicle and the consoles design protects it from damage and accidental actuation of the switches.

9 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUL 3 I975 sum 1 or 2 39 5114 I FIG.2

PATENTEDJULQ I975 SHEEIZUFZ BUOYANCY TRANSPORT VEHICLE CONTROL CONSOLE STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This invention relates to copending patent applications entitled Diver Operated Propulsion System for an Underwater Vehicle by Alvah T. Strickland, U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 185,642 filed Oct. 1, 1971 and Deep Submergence Container Lid Seal by Alvah T. Strickland et al., U.S. Pat. Ser. No. 238,577 filed Mar. 27, 1972.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, most instrumentation packages used in a marine environment with its attendant fluctuating pressures are housed in cylindrical containers having plexiglass inspection ports. When several instrumentation packages or switching assemblies are included in an undersea device, the bulk of the control'system increases at a rate far in proportion to the functional capacity of the device. Too much bulk and space is usually devoted to house all the electronic instruments and electrical circuitry. In the majority of undersea operations, devices used by diver operators must do without highly desirable electronic features because the bulk limitations imposed by conventional electronic packaging approaches greatly limited the devices aggregate capabilities. This continuing obstacle for the expeditious development of a deep ocean technology has long confronted marine designers'and; until the present invention, the need for a compact multifunction undersea instrumentation-switching console operable by a single diver-operator has continued to exist.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to providing a compact submersible control console having an instrumentation panel and a switching panel integrally joined to a pair of side panels sized to provide protection and to define an internal cavity. A resilient sealing means is disposed about the mouth of the cavity and at least one removable panel reaches across the mouth of the cavity and compresses the resilient sealing means ensuring the sealing of the cavitys interior. A single retaining member reaches through appropriately shaped retaining slots in each of the side panels to hold the removable panels in their compressing relationship on the sealing means thereby eliminating vulnerable threaded bolts and correspondingly tapped bores from the corrosive effects of the marine environment. A dielectric fluid fills the cavity and a diaphragm member carried at the console-water interface hydrostatically cooperate to render the control console nonresponsive to fluctuating ambient pressures.

It is a prime object of the invention to provide a submersible control console which is compact in size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a control console having localized, accessible switches and instrumentation for a diver-operator.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a submersible control console having removable back and bottom panels to allow an unobstructed access to internal components.

A further object is to provide a submersible control console configured to protect the console from damage and accidental actuation.

Yet another object is to provide a console which is insensitive to ambient pressure variations.

These and other objects of the invention will become more readily apparent from the ensuing specification when taken with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an isometric depiction of the submersible control console operationally deployed on a buoyancy transport vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a back view of the invention, partially in section.

FIG. 4a is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along lines 44 in FIG. 2 showing the back and bottom panels removed.

FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along lines 4-4 in FIG. 2 showing the back and bottom panels in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, control console 10 is shown operationally deployed on a buoyancy transport vehicle. The BTV, the subject matter of the first cited related patent application above, is a device which serves as a diver operated marine forklift for moving heavy objects from one location to another. A centrally disposed spherical chamber is flooded or evacuated to provide the required buoying for raising an object. After the desired level of buoyance has been attained, discretely arranged impellers are selectively actuated to control the vehicles attitude and heading, as well as, providing the locomotive thrust. The BTV is controlled by a diver-operator and necessitates a complicated instrumentation and switching network to maintain the proper ballasting and control functions. To elaborate, since the BTV is operated beneath the surface of the water, a bank of storage batteries necessarily is carried to provide the power for operating the several impellers. This power level must be monitored to guard against inopportune failure. In addition, information regarding the degree of buoyancy, heading and elapsed time should be made available continually to the diveroperator. Since the many diverse functions and the monitoring thereof need be presented to a diveroperator in a way so as not to detract from his performance of a task, it is incumbent that the instrumentation and switches be conveniently packaged for the efficient operation of the BTV.

With these criteria in mind, the control console 10 has been fabricated to include an instrumentation panel 11 having a top portion 12 reaching to the back of the console and a switching panel 13 provided with a depending front portion 14. The instrumentation panel and the switching panel are oriented with respect to one another to give a localized, accessible area of control and monitoring which will not call for a diveroperator's looking hither and yon as he actuates a control sequence.

A pair of side panels and 16 flank the instrumentation and switching panels and sufficiently extend along forwardly facing portions 15a and 16a to afford a degree of protection to the control surfaces of the console and also act as safety shields to reduce the possibility of inadvertent actuation of the switches. A grip bar 17 optionally is included for additional protection and safety and is secured between the two side panels immediately in front of the switching panel. Preferably, the grip bar is knurled giving a diver-operator a better surface to grasp during transport operations and while he is not actuating the controls.

The sealing problems in the console are reduced by welding or bonding together the instrumentation panel, the switching panel, the top and front portions along with the side panels to give this combined structure an integral characteristic. While minimizing the sealing problems, this approach also increases the structural integrity to ensure the consoles withstanding the routine abuse all diving equipment is subjected to.

Within the state of the art, techniques for mounting the instrumentation and the switches are many and well known. details concerning the switches, instrumentation, packings, fittings, etc., are not. Let it suffice to say that since the control console is pressure compensated in a manner disclosed below, packings and console penetraters need not be overly sophisticated to function reliably in the disclosed embodiment. For instance, the instrumentation carried on instrumentation panel 11 is a plurality of meters and gauges giving, for example, visual representations of voltage, amperage, compass headings, gas pressure and elapsed time, carried within the console. Preformed viewing ports in the instrumentation and switching panels are covered by suitable plexiglass or plastic disks which, in turn, are bonded onto the consoles interior or exterior surface. The meters and gauges are mounted onto internal studs appropriately located to align the dials with the viewing ports. Similarly, on switching panel 13, actuators and panel lights are appropriately located and mounted to allow responsive control of the vehicle. The console, so contructed, is no wider than 14 inches and presents a localized, completely accessible switching and instrumentation package.

Since the instrumentation and the switching is likely to demand frequent inspections and maintenance, the control console has been designed to provide this capability. On the underside of top portion 12, a downwardly facing lateral groove 18 reaches across the console between side panels 15 and 16. Immediately inside the groove and within an L-shaped cavity 19 defined by the mechanically cooperating panels, a U-shaped angle member 20 is welded or bonded along the underside of top portion 12 and onto the interior opposed surfaces of side panels 15 and 16. In like manner, the inside surfaces of front portion 14 is shaped with a rearwardly facing lateral groove 21 extending from side panel 15 to side panel 16 and an essentially rectangularly shaped angle member 22 is welded or bonded onto the interior surface of front portion 14 and along side panels 15 and 16 in a plane slightly inside and upward from rearwardly facing lateral groove 21. U-shaped angle member 20 and rectangularly shaped angle member 22 are welded together at ajuncture area 24 and another area on the opposite side of the console, not shown in drawings, where the legs of the U-shaped angle bear against the rectangularly shaped member. The invention as described to this point completely exposes the switches and instrumentation packages carried in the consoles interior for inspection and routine maintenance. Various testing procedures to determine whether or not the instrumentation or switches are functioning properly is performed without resorting to further disassembly of the console or calling for other than off-the-shelf test instruments.

Closure and protection of the switches and instru mentation is owed to the highly unique mounting and sealing of a back panel 26 and a bottom panel 27. In their simplest form, the panels are no more than plates of metal each having a width capable of being accommodated for pivotal motion and seating in downwardly facing lateral groove 18 and rearwardly facing lateral groove 21. Optionally, of course, penetrations are made through either or both of the plates connecting the instrumentation and switches to the remotely controlled or remotely monitored devices via conventional case penetraters. All of these case penetraters are selected from off-the-shelf components which need not be overly sophicticated or require extensive modification for a deep submergence application due to the inventions manner of mounting and sealing the back and bottom panels and the consoles pressure compensation.

On the lower reaches of the rectangular shaped angle member 22 there is defined a downwardly facing sealing surface 28 having a sufficient width and smoothness to provide a mounting surface fora resilient sealing element 29. The element is selected from any one of a goodly number of commercially available materials having a compliant, resilient property and is integral in nature, that is, there being no breaks or gaps throughout its length. Preferably, the sealing element is of the type disclosed in the cited related pending patent application above. In any event, the resilient sealing element is adhered onto downwardly facing sealing surface 28 to prevent its inadvertent damage should the element be dislocated as the bottom plate is being mounted.

To the rear of the U-shaped angle member, a rearwardly facing sealing surface 30 is provided and a coplanar rearwardly facing sealing surface 31 is formed on the interior side of rectangularly shaped angle member 22. The juncture areas 24 and 25 are filled sufficiently with weld to present a continuous flat sealing surface. A second resilient sealing element 32 having the same properties as resilient sealing element 29 is glued onto the surfaces 30 and 31.

Looking to FIG 4a in particular of the drawings, without the back and bottom panels in place resilient sealing elements 29 and 32 project outwardly into the two planes in which rearwardly facing lateral groove 21 and downwardly facing lateral groove 18 lie. Placing an extreme portion 26a of back panel 26 in downwardly facing lateral groove 18 and rotating the panel in a clockwise direction about this pivotal line compresses resilient sealing element 32. Similarly, inserting an extreme portion 270 of bottom panel 27 in rearwardly facing lateral groove 21 and rotating the panel in a counterclockwise direction compresses resilient sealing element 29a. Rotating the two panels until they attain a nearly mutually orthogonal orientation with respect to one another effectively isolates L-shaped cavity 19 from the surroundings.

Securing the panels in this sealing closure of the L- shaped cavity has been expeditiously provided for by cutting away an angle shaped retaining slot 33 and 34 in side panel and 16, respectively. Through these slots, retaining member 35 having an angle shaped cross sectional configuration slightly smaller than the dimensions of the retaining slots, is inserted. The resilience of resilient sealing elements 29 and 32 force the back and bottom panels outwardly to hold the retaining member in place and secure the back and bottom panels on the console. There are required no supplemental latching devices, bolt and tapped bore combinations or similar arrangements which are vulnerable in the corrosive marine environment and prone to failure. The simplicity of the aforedescribed design markedly improves the reliability and permits maintenance of the control console in the field by personnel having the bare minimum of tools and other maintenance equipment. All that is required is for the retaining member to be withdrawn from the slots and the panels rotated in their respective grooves and removed from the console.

Filling L-shaped cavity 19 with a dielectric fluid 37, such as silicon oil, and including a diaphragm member 38 on any one of the panels, there being shown a diaphragm member in back panel 26 of purposes of demonstration, renders the control console insensitive to fluctuating ambient pressure variations. The fluid is added after the back and front panels have been mounted through an appropriate fitting 39 in top portions 12. The dielectric fluid being substantially incompressible does not introduce an intolerable pressure differential across the sealing elements 29 and 32 or the instrumentation and switching fittings. However, the diaphragm is included to allow compensation for bubbles which may have been inadvertently trapped in the console as the dielectric fluid is added.

Fabricated as disclosed, the console concentrates and gathers a diver-operators attentions as he maneuvers the BTV about. An instrumentation readout and the control switches being close together permit continuous observation and responsive control in a minimum of time. The accessibility to the consoles interior simplifies the inspection and maintenance procedures in a short period to reduce the BTVs down time between work cycles.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings, and, it is therefore understood that within the scope of the disclosed inventive concept, the invention may be practiced otherwise than specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. A submersible control console comprising:

an instrumentation panel having elements for providing a readout;

a pair of side panels sized to extend beyond said instrumentation panel for providing protection thereto and each having a retaining slot, said instrumentation panel and said pair of side panels being an integrally joined, unitized structure defining a cavity;

means disposed on the mouth of said cavity for resiliently sealing the interior of said cavity;

a first removable panel shaped to reach acrosssaid mouth of said cavity and being adapted to compress the resilient sealing means to ensure said sealing of said interior; and

a single retaining member configured to reach through said retaining slots to engage said first removable panel for holding said resilient sealing means in compression thereby eliminating corrosively vulnerable conventional fasteners.

2. A submersible control console according to claim 1 further including:

a dielectric fluid filling said cavity; and

a diaphragm member carried in one of the panels, said dielectric fluid and said diaphragm member hydrostatically cooperating to render said control console pressure compensated.

3. A submersible control console according to claim 2 further including:

a switching panel having controls for responsively actuating remotely located devices and being integrally joined to said instrumentation panel and said pair of side panels to define an L-shaped cavity with said switching panel facing generally upward and said instrumentation panel facing generally forward thereby providing a diver-operator with localized, accessible switches and instrumentation; and

a grip bar reaching across the front of said switching panel between said pair of side panels, said grip bar cooperating with said pair of side panels to protect said control console from damage and prevent accidental actuation of said controls.

4. A submersible control console according to claim 3 further including:

a second removable panel reaching across the bottom of said control console and covering a portion of said mouth of said cavity while said first removable panel reaches across the back of said control console and covers the remainder of said mouth of said cavity, the back panel and the bottom panel thereby providing unrestricted access to said elements on said instrumentation panel and said controls on said switching panel.

5. A submersible control console according to claim 4 in which the retaining slots are located to position the retaining member in engagement with both said back panel and said bottom panel.

6. A submersible control console according to claim 5 in which said instrumentation panel includes a top portion extending toward the rear of said control console and shaped with a downwardly facing lateral groove sized to receive and pivotally support said back panel and said switching panel includesa front portion extending downward and shaped with a rearwardly facing lateral groove sized to receive and pivotally support said bottom panel.

7. A submersible control console according to claim 6 further including:

a rectangularly shaped framework mounted on said pair of side panels and on said front portion above and adjacent to said rearwardly facing lateral groove said rectangularly shaped framework being provided with a downwardly facing sealing surface and a backward facing sealing surface; and

a U-shaped framework mounted on said pair of side panels and on said top portion inside of and adjcent to said downwardly facing lateral groove, said U- shaped framework being provided with a rearwardly facing sealing surface.

8. A submersible control console according to claim 7 in which said resilient sealing means includes a first sealing element carried on said downwardly facing sealing surface and a second sealing element carried on 9. A submersible control console according to claim 8 in which said retaining slots are L-shaped and said retaining member is an angle element engaging both said bottom panel and said back panel to hold both said first sealing element and said second sealing element in compression. 

1. A submersible control console comprising: an instrumentation panel having elements for providing a readout; a pair of side panels sized to extend beyond said instrumentation panel for providing protection thereto and each having a retaining slot, said instrumentation panel and said pair of side panels being an integrally joined, unitized structure defining a cavity; means disposed on the mouth of said cavity for resiliently sealing the interior of said cavity; a first removable panel shaped to reach across said mouth of said cavity and being adapted to compress the resilient sealing means to ensure said sealing of said interior; and a single retaining member configured to reach through said retaining slots to engage said first removable panel for holding said resilient sealing means in compression thereby eliminating corrosively vulnerable conventional fasteners.
 2. A submersible control console according to claim 1 further including: a dielectric fluid filling said cavity; and a diaphragm member carried in one of the panels, said dielectric fluid and said diaphragm member hydrostatically cooperating to render said control console pressure compensated.
 3. A submersible control console according to claim 2 further including: a switching panel having controls for responsively actuating remotely located devices and being integrally joined to said instrumentation panel and said pair of side panels to define an L-shaped cavity with said switching panel facing generally upward and said instrumentation panel facing generally forward thereby providing a diver-operator with localized, accessible switches and instrumentation; and a grip bar reaching across the front of said switching panel between said pair of side panels, said grip bar cooperating with said pair of side panels to protect said control console from damage and prevent accidental actuation of said controls.
 4. A submersible control console according to claim 3 further including: a second removable panel reaching across the bottom of said control console and covering a portion of said mouth of said cavity while said first removable panel reaches across the back of said control console and covers the remainder of said mouth of said cavity, the back panel and the bottom panel thereby providing unrestricted access to said elements on said instrumentation panel and said controls on said switching panel.
 5. A submersible control console according to claim 4 in which the retaining slots are located to position the retaining memBer in engagement with both said back panel and said bottom panel.
 6. A submersible control console according to claim 5 in which said instrumentation panel includes a top portion extending toward the rear of said control console and shaped with a downwardly facing lateral groove sized to receive and pivotally support said back panel and said switching panel includes a front portion extending downward and shaped with a rearwardly facing lateral groove sized to receive and pivotally support said bottom panel.
 7. A submersible control console according to claim 6 further including: a rectangularly shaped framework mounted on said pair of side panels and on said front portion above and adjacent to said rearwardly facing lateral groove said rectangularly shaped framework being provided with a downwardly facing sealing surface and a backward facing sealing surface; and a U-shaped framework mounted on said pair of side panels and on said top portion inside of and adjcent to said downwardly facing lateral groove, said U-shaped framework being provided with a rearwardly facing sealing surface.
 8. A submersible control console according to claim 7 in which said resilient sealing means includes a first sealing element carried on said downwardly facing sealing surface and a second sealing element carried on said backwardly facing sealing surface and said rearwardly facing sealing surface, upon pivotally mounting said bottom panel in said rearwardly facing lateral groove and said back panel in said downwardly facing lateral groove, said first sealing element and said second sealing element are compressed sealing said interior of said console.
 9. A submersible control console according to claim 8 in which said retaining slots are L-shaped and said retaining member is an angle element engaging both said bottom panel and said back panel to hold both said first sealing element and said second sealing element in compression. 